Don Cherry is not known to be a man that will mince words. He is undoubtedly the most outspoken man in the hockey universe and his opinions are heard by millions weekly. The man knows hockey inside and out, but it is his opinionated nature that got him in trouble last night.
During his "Coaches Corner" segment on Hockey Night in Canada, Cherry referred to his longtime co-host Ron Maclean as a "savage" and a "barbarian". His reason for the outburst? Maclean had mentioned via satellite that he had eaten seal for lunch while staying in St. John's, N.L. Cherry made an off-hand remark that MacLean ate a "little baby seal," and added "what are you, a savage, a barbarian?"
Cherry had no idea the kind of backlash he would receive today as a result of these insensitive comments, as people from around the globe took to their Twitter accounts to publicly express their outrage.
Environment Minister Leona Aglukkaq responded by Tweeting this:
"Sealing is important to Inuit culture and tradition," Aglukkaq posted. "
Mr. Cherry's comments last night were hurtful and insensitive. I hope he apologizes."Our government will continue to defend Canada's humane seal hunt which is so important to many of our Northern and coastal communities."
Many others called for Cherry to fired.
"According to Don Cherry, my Inuk friends are savages because they eat seal," tweeted Matthew Coon Come, former National Chief of the Assembly of First Nations. "The network should fire him for his racist remark."
Local politicians in St. John's were also upset with the 81-year-old commentator.
"Well Don Cherry, barbarians are we? shows you ignorance, lack of knowledge, insensitive!" posted St. John's City Councillor Tom Hann.
Do not jump to the conclusion that Cherry intentionally tried to insult Maclean and the people of the First Nations, it is pretty clear that it was not his intention. However, Cherry's comments should not be taken lightly, as ignorance is the worst excuse you can give in this situation.
Cherry has been doing this a long time and most night's go off without a hitch. Despite this fact, every time Cherry says opens his mouth (which is often) his opinion is set in stone. A man unable to adapt and remain relevant in these modern times is probably the worst candidate to speak to millions of people on live television.
He is a stubborn man and that is not likely to change anytime soon, so this does beg the question, does Cherry deserve to be the face of Hockey Night in Canada, knowing that at any moment he could ruin the broadcast's credibility and draw anger from the very people that make the show possible?
You be the judge.